Improvement in carriage-tops



M. M. OADY. Carriage-Top.

No. 220,960. Patehted Oct. 28, I879.

Invention- N.PE|'ER3. FHOTOUTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MONROE M. OADY, OF DUBUQUE, IOIVA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE-TOPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220,960, dated October 28, 1879; application filed September 22, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MONROE M. OADY, of Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Carriage-Tops; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object I have in view is to produce means for supporting adj ustable'carriage and buggy tops which will be very simple, cheap, and strong in construction, and will hold the top rigidly in an upright position from tipping either forward or backward, without the use of the rear quartercurtains, and so that it cannot work loose and rattle, as do tops of the ordinary construction, and at the same time the top will resemble very closely the ordinary ealash-top.

My invention therein consists, first, in the peculiar joints or hinges for pivoting the top to the shifting-rails and preventing any movement of the same forward of an upright position; second, in the combination of such peculiar joints or hinges with the top and with jointed rear braces for supporting the top; and, third, in the combination, construction, and arrangement of the principal parts of my device, viz., the four-bow top without rear quartercurtains, andconnected together by jointed braces, the peculiar joints or hinges pivoting the top to the shifting-rails, the shifting-rails secured to the carriage or buggy seat, and the rear jointed braces connecting the shifting-rails and the third bow of the top, all as fully hereinafter explained.

1 In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the top secured to a carriage or buggy seat; and Figs. 2 and 3, views of oneof thejoints or hinges by which the top is pivoted to the shift-\ ing-rails.

The four-bow top A shown is of ordinary construction, having a central bow, a, secured rigidly to the bow or slat plates, a forward bow, or, pivoted to the bow a by rearwardlycurved irons, and rear bows, e of, the first being pivoted to the main bow a, and the other to the bow ad. The bows are connected and spread apart near their top by jointed rods or braces b b.

B represents one of the shifting-rails,which are secured to the sides of the seat in the usual way. At their forwardends the shiftin g-rails are curved upward to form standards 0, to which the top is pivoted, and near their rearends the shiftin g-rails have studs, to which the rear jointed braces D are pivoted and upon which the rear bow, c of the top rests when the top is thrown down. Thesejointed braces D connect the shiftingrails with the third bow, a the whole giving the appearance of the ordinary calash-top, with the exception that the permanentlyattached rear quarter curtains are not used.

To prevent the top from working loose and rattling, and especially when the rear quartercurtains are not employed, some device is necessary to retain the top rigidly in an up right position. This I accomplish by means of my peculiar joints, which I will now describe, and which, in connection with the rear braces, make a firm and rigid support. The standards 0 terminate in two cheeks, E E, between which fit closely the bow or slat plates F, to which the main bow ais rigidly attached.

Bolts G, having screwthreaded ends. and nuts, are passed through the cheeks E E and bow plates F, serving as pivots on which the bow-plates turn and securing the parts together. On the forward sides of the cheeks E E the standards 0 are provided with horizontal shoulders H, extending across the faces of the standards. The bow-plates are provided on their forward sides with projections I, which spread out on each side of the bowplates the entire width of the cheeks and the shoulders H. When the top is propped in an upright position by the jointed rear braces, the projections I will strike the shoulders H, and the top will be held rigidly without any working of the parts. This peculiarjoint or hinge is very simple, and at the same time is strong and efficient, preventing a lateral working of the parts, as well as forward motion.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a carriage-top, the hinges or joints for pivoting the top to the sliiftingrails, consist ing of the cheeks E E on the standards 0, inclosing the bow -plates F, the bolts G, the shoulders H on the standards, and the projections I on the bow-plates, constructed and arranged substantially as described and shown.

2. The combination of the folding carriagetop, the bow-plates F, pivoted between cheeks E E on the standards 0, the shoulders and projections 11 I, and the rear jointed braces D, substantially as described and shown.

3. The fourbow earriagetop A, having jointed braces b b, in combination with the shifting rails B, the standards 0, rising from the shifting-rails and having cheeks E E, and 

